


Checkmate

by hoarderhangover



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Kageyama Tobio, Cheerleaders, Embarrassed Kageyama Tobio, First Time, Genderfluid Character, Genderfluid Hinata Shouyou, High School AU, Hinata Shouyou is a Dork, Hinata and Kageyama are roommates, KageHina - Freeform, Kageyama Tobio Angst, Kageyama Tobio is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Minor Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Oikawa Tooru & Kageyama Tobio are Related, Past Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru, Romantic Soulmates, Sex might happen later on, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, You Decide, but not the typical soulmate au, genderfluid cheerleader hinata, or maybe it's a utopia, so rating may change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-18 20:28:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7329571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoarderhangover/pseuds/hoarderhangover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kageyama Tobio has a black mark, which means his soulmate is dead (and that he's a social outcast). Of course, the first thing his roommate Hinata asks is, "Can I touch it?"</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>That soulmate au where Kagehina aren't actually Soulmates but fall in love anyway. Because the typical soulmate story is too perfect and easy for these two, and because the soulmate society is messed up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kageyama Tobio is in for a surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kageyama meets his over-the-top roommate, Hinata.
> 
> (Who also happens to be a cheerleader.)

Tobio didn't even try to fit in.   
  
His Soulmate Mark shone black -- black, the color of death -- on his jaw, and he didn't even attempt to angle his face down to hide it, the way he had first year. He just clutched his single suitcase, the one with the broken handle, and followed his foster brother, Oikawa, though the crowd of students.

Oikawa’s brown hair bounced and Tobio knew he was staring, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. He settled for scowling and fixating on Oikawa’s broad back, finding the spot where he knew Oikawa’s Soulmate Mark was. He remembered the first time he had seen that Mark...

* * *

_ “Don’t touch it!” squealed Oikawa, rolling over quickly so he was face-to-face with Tobio in the darkness. Tobio started, finding his nose much too close to Oikawa’s, and found himself blushing. _

_ "Why not?” he said gruffly, trying not to sound like a little kid. After all, if Oikawa was going to strip in front of him, he should be allowed to touch that beautiful skin. _

_ “Because...because…” Oikawa’s eyes traced Tobio black jaw and Tobio covered his Mark with his hand, scowling. “Because what if you, like, accidentally kill my Soulmate too?” _

_ “That’s dumb,” snapped Tobio, even though he wasn’t entirely sure about that himself. _

_ Oikawa slipped his arm around Tobio’s waist and Tobio struggled to hold onto the argument, but it was hard when Oikawa’s lips were brushing his face… and it didn’t really matter, anyway… _

_ “Just don’t touch it,” Oikawa whispered again. _

_ And Tobio didn’t. _

* * *

A tall blonde shouldered past, against the current, and he glanced down at Tobio with a frown of disgust. But for the most part, everyone ignored him, which was just what he was used to.

“Tsukishima!” Oikawa chirped, and he bounded over to throw his arms around the blonde. Tsukishima scowled harder, and Tobio reflected that at least he wasn’t the only one who Tsukishima hated.

“Fuck off,” growled Tsukishima.

Oikawa stuck out his bottom lip in a pout. “But you  _ love  _ me!”

Tobio rolled his eyes.

“I don’t,” Tsukishima deadpanned. Behind him, his Soulmate Yamaguchi peered over his shoulder, looking awed. Tsukishima just rolled his eyes and pushed Oikawa off. “You douches go get your roommate assignments. Because, you know…” He leered at Tobio, “you don’t have Soulmates.”

Several years ago, Tobio would have insisted that he used to have a Soulmate (his Soulmate simply wasn’t alive anymore), but now he stayed silent, glaring.  _ It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. _

“I don’t have a Soulmate  _ yet _ ,” corrected Oikawa, thowing out his chest.

“Of course. Time to go grope some first-years,” said Tsukishima, and Tobio would have thought it was funny if it wasn’t so  _ true.  _ Oikawa had already thrown himself at several new students, trying to grope their Soulmate Marks in hopes of feeling the tell-tale Soulmate Spark.

“Mean,” pouted Oikawa.

Tobio wriggled past them and up to the school’s fancy mahogany desks, where roommate assignments were handed out. The lady started to hand him his assignment paper, and then caught a glimpse of his black Mark and retracted the paper.

“Boy, do you go here?” she asked suspiciously, peering over her glasses.

Tobio sighed and grabbed Oikawa, who was already trying to grope some poor girl. “Get over here, dumbass,” Tobio snapped.

“Huh? What? Oh, oh yes, of course,” Oikawa simpered, leaning on the desk. “This monstrosity is my foster brother. He’s here on my parents’ money.” He smiled a sickly smile, and the lady smiled back, apparently charmed by Oikawa’s good looks.

“Oh, my apologies. Here you go,” she added, handing Tobio his paper and quickly beginning to chatter with handsome Oikawa.

Tobio glanced down at his roommate assignment. There it was, the typed name of his roommate: **Hinata Shouyou.**   
  
He didn’t feel the rumored “thrill” you were supposed to feel if you read your Soulmate's name, but he wasn’t surprised. Not with a black Mark, a dead Mark, scarring his skin. "Hey, dumbass.” He jabbed Oikawa hard in the shoulder blades and Oikawa yelped. “Who's Hinata Shouyou?"   
  
Oikawa paused and turned his head slightly, eyes wide. "You've never heard of Hinata Shouyou?" He sounded disbelieving, like he'd known Tobio was stupid but he hadn't thought he was _this_ stupid.   
  
Scowling, Tobio shook his head.

Oikawa gave him an incredulous look. "The cheerleader?"

Tobio hadn't known their school had male cheerleaders. "Maybe I've heard of him," said Tobio, but he still wasn't so sure. He didn't keep up with the gossip and goings-on that involved cheerleaders and popular kids.    
  
Oikawa whistled. “Man, are you in for a  _ surprise _ .”

That didn’t sound promising.

 

* * *

 

Tobio climbed the steps, keeping his head down. Students jogged past him, sparing him a glance -- or two, if they spotted his black Mark -- and then continued on. He hurried through the plain hallway and found his dorm room, which had a sparkly "Welcome!" sign on the door.   
  
Tobio frowned. None of his past roommates had welcomed him, and he didn't see signs on any of the other doors. He chewed his lip for a moment before pushing open the door and walking inside.   
  
A short, orange-haired boy was balancing on one of the beds, hanging a volleyball poster on the wall. He was dressed in gym shorts, shirtless, and Tobio checked his dorm assignment one more time.    
  
"Hey -- !" cried the boy, glancing over his shoulder and spotting Tobio, and then -- with a yelp -- tumbled off the bed.

_ Great. _ He was rooming with an idiot.

"Are you really a cheerleader?" Tobio blurted out, clutching the paper that read  _ Hinata Shouyou.  _ __  
  
“Whaa?” Hinata stared up at him, a little dazed, from the floor, and Tobio’s ears flushed--he was kinda cute, in an adorable-puppy sort of way. He looked away, cursing the heat on his face.

“Kageyama Tobio,” he muttered, bowing a little and then feeling stupid.

“Oh!” Hinata scrambled to his feet, his hair sticking out at every angle. “Uh--Hinata Shouyou. Nice to meet you." He bounced across the room, thrusting out his hand. Tobio flushed even harder.  _ Stupid awkwardness. _

"Um...hey." He shook Hinata’s hand limply, wondering when the smaller boy would notice his black Mark and recoil, gasping out  _ OMG, I'm so sorry, I didn't know-- _ __  
  
"Is that bed okay?" asked Hinata, pointing, as Tobio sat down on the remaining one. Tobio glanced down.   
  
"Yeah?" The beds were the same except that Hinata's was covered in a dark blue comforter and multiple throw pillows.    
  
"Oh. Okay, sorry." Hinata laughed nervously, rubbing his neck. "I hope you don't mind that I was hanging up stuff," he added, gesturing to his half of the room, which was covered in posters and photographs.    
  
"No, it's fine." Tobio set his single suitcase on the bed and Hinata's wide eyes followed it.    
  
"That's all you have?" Hinata asked, a kind of awe in his voice.    
  
"Huh? Oh, yeah."   
  
"No posters?" asked Hinata, excitement creeping into his voice, and he started to bounce a little on the balls of his feet.    
  
"Um, no."   
  
"So--so--" Hinata swooped his arm around the room. "Can I put up my stuff all over the room? If--if you don't mind?"   
  
"Sure," said Tobio, a little surprised that he was being asked. Usually people ignored him and just did their own thing.    
  
"Really? Thank you!" Hinata bounced for real this time, grinning, and Tobio could maybe see the cheerleader in him. Maybe. If he wasn't such a  __ boy  and if cheerleaders weren't supposed to be preppy blonde chicks.

"Do you have a blanket or anything?" asked Hinata, still talking a mile a minute (Tobio almost missed a few words), as he fished more posters out of his bags. "I have an extra one if you want. Here--" He bent over and dragged out a heavy blanket, dark blue like his own. "I brought it for my soulmate, in case I find them this year, but you can use it until then!"   
  
Tobio took the blanket, pretty surprised. People usually didn't talk to him at all, much less offer him things besides the middle finger.    
  
"I don't know why you and your soulmate would have separate beds, but..."    
  
Hinata started, his eyes going wide. Tobio cursed inwardly -- he’d probably corrupted the innocent child. "Oh. Oh, um...I didn't think of that." 

Hinata was blushing now and it was cute -- damnmit, why did he think this little kid was so freaking  _ cute? _ Tobio had to look away to stop the flush from showing on his own neck. Damn. How was he supposed to stay a whole year sleeping in the same room as a cute guy like this? And why was Hinata being so...so  _ nice _ ?   
  
"Well, if you need any more stuff--" Hinata glanced back at Tobio and froze. "Oh!"    
  
There. There it was. Here it came: the shock, the apology, and inevitably, the avoidance. Tobio swallowed and tried a hollow laugh.    
  
" _ Oh _ ," said Hinata again, stepping forward, eyes huge. He was staring right at Tobio's jaw, where the black Mark partly his under his chin but not enough to make it invisible. "Are you...are you..."   
  
"I've got a black Mark, yeah," said Tobio.  _ My Soulmate is dead. _ He was used to this part. Hinata would start spewing  _ sorrys _ and then hurry out of the room, citing other plans. When they were forced back into the same room, the awkwardness would be thick and uncomfortable--   
  
"Can I touch it?" asked Hinata, wide-eyed, hand already hovering near Tobio's face.   
  
_ What? _

"Um...sure?" It felt just like any other Mark, just like skin, except that it would never Spark, never connect with someone else's fingers the way that Soulmate Marks were supposed to. No one had ever asked to touch it. People only wanted to touch other's Marks in hopes of finding their Soulmate.    
  
Hinata reached out tentatively and brushed his fingers over Tobio's jawbone. His expression was awed, lips parted temptingly, and Tobio was struck with a sudden urge to touch those lips the way Hinata was touching his face. He bit his tongue-- _ no _ .    
  
"Wow..." breathed Hinata. "Cool."   
  
Tobio grunted a laugh, a bitter thing bubbling in the back of his throat, which made Hinata blush again and drop his hand. "Not really," said Tobio, averting his gaze, unsure how to talk about this.    
  
"And...and it means...?"   
  
"That my Soulmate's dead, yeah." Tobio scowled, not because he was mad but because he didn’t know what else to do, and prepared himself for the inevitable horror that had followed him around since before he could remember.  _ Dead _ . It meant that as far as everyone else was concerned, he was dead too. Useless. 

After an uncomfortable moment of silence, he chanced another glance at Hinata, but the other boy was still looking awed, as if he'd never seen anything so fascinating.    
  
"That sucks," he said, eyes glued to the Mark. Then he shook himself a bit, like he'd been rude, and gave Tobio an awkward half-smile. "Well--I got in a motor accident," he said abruptly. "Chopped off half my leg." He yanked up a pant leg to reveal a complicated metal contraption. Tobio stared.    
  
"Oh," was all he could say, his mind staggering. "Sorry, man."    
  
"It's okay," said Hinata, laughing a bit, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Just...yeah. Sorry for sharing."   
  
"No, it's okay." Tobio watched as Hinata shoved his pant leg back down. Why was he showing him this? Was this somehow the equivalent of a black Mark? Wasn't it a little early to exchange battle wounds? They had just met, after all. And while he didn't exactly try to hide his black Mark anymore, he didn't go around bragging about it. Maybe Hinata was proud of his injury. A metal leg  _ was _ sort of cool.   
  
"Anyway..." Hinata bounced on his heels (a nervous habit?) and half-grinned. "You wanna go get food?" He sounded hopefully, inviting, and Tobio stared again.    
  
An invite to go  _ anywhere _ was ten times weirder than any injury.   
  
"Okay..." he said uncertainly, glancing at the door, and Hinata's face split into the biggest smile Tobio had ever seen. For  _ him _ ? What the  _ hell _ ?   
  
"Great!" Hinata sounded relieved, even excited, and Tobio couldn't fathom what was going on in his head. This was insane. No one wanted to hang out with "that poor black Mark kid." He was a social outcast. But Hinata had already bounced towards the door and was waiting expectantly.   
  
"Coming?" he asked, and Tobio just followed, mind blown.   
  
Who  _ was _ this Hinata kid?   
  
  



	2. Hinata strips in front of Tobio (among other things)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata, apparently oblivious to the fact that he was putting on a fucking SHOW for Tobio, shed his shirt and crossed the room.
> 
> ...and Tobio gets to meet the cheerleaders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the support! Wow! Everyone who commented, bookmarked, or left kudos helped make this second chapter possible. Thanks everyone!

Hinata knew everybody. They weren't even all the way out of their room before he was shouting "Daichi!" and running to give some random guy a huge hug. Tobio stood there awkwardly, closing the door behind him, not sure if he was supposed to wait for Hinata or not.    
  
Hinata caught up to him, grinning, but the greetings didn't stop. Every five seconds he was waving to a new person - some girls, some guys - and he knew everyone by name. They seemed to know him, too: 

"Hey, Hinata!"

"Sup, Hinata?"

"How was your summer, Shouyou?"

"Still haven't found your Soulmate?" 

Hinata was beaming and Tobio was starting to understand why the boy had been so nice to him: Hinata was nice to everybody. Even when they passed Tanaka, the one weird kid who no one knew how to talk to, Hinata called, "Hey, Tanaka!" and waved energetically. Tanaka’s face split into a huge grin and Tobio groaned inside. You were nice to Tanaka or his idiotic friend, Nishinoya, once, and then boom -- stalked for life.    
  
But he couldn't exactly complain -- he was much more of an outcast.    
  
They made it to the packed cafeteria before Hinata ran into his girlfriends, the rest of the cheer squad.   
  
"OMG, Hinata!" cited one of the blonde girls, running through the crowd to throw her arms around Hinata. "I missed you SO much!"    
  
"Yachi!" cried Hinata, nuzzling her. "It's been forever!”

Tobio quickly tried to skirt around them. It was nice of Hinata to invite him to eat with him, but these cheerleaders would never want him around. The dark-haired one, head cheerleader Kiyoko, looked terrifying and Tobio didn't want to risk going near her to say goodbye to Hinata.   
  
He thought he had escaped, but then Hinata called, "Kageyama?"   
  
Cursing, he turned his head. "Yeah?" he said, forcing a (probably terrifying) smile as if he had lots of friends and was just going to find them.   
  
Hinata cocked his head as the cheerleaders stared at Tobio over his shoulder. "Where are you going?"    
  
"Uh - I just just, you know - gonna get food." He gestured vaguely inside the cafeteria, lancing his jaw in the same smile.    
  
"Oh, yeah, of course!" Hinata tried to wiggle out of his girlfriends' grip, but they just clung tighter to him. "Hang on a sec, you can sit with us!"   
  
"What?" said Yachi. "Hinata, who is that?"   
  
"My roommate," said Hinata. "He's a really cool guy - “   
  
_ We just met _ , Tobio thought, hands itching. He just wanted to be alone, where things weren't so uncomfortable.    
  
"I dunno,” said Yachi."I mean -- wait." She craned her neck and Tobio quickly looked away, hiding his Mark for the first time that day -- but she had already noticed it and was crying out, "It's that black mark kid?"    
  
Hinata’s eyes got big. "Um...yeah?” He seemed confused and Tobio felt a twinge of something - gratitude, maybe.    
  
"How tragic,” said Kiyoko, voice dripping with disgust.     
  
"The poor thing," said Yachi. "Well, c’mon, Hinata -- let him find his own friends."   
  
"But - "   
  
"It's okay," said Tobio, and it really was - he didn't want to sit with cheerleaders who pitied him and then ignored him. Socializing was meant for people who were looking for their Soulmates, anyway. Soulmates spent all their time together.    
  
Hinata made a face, but he didn't argue. His cheerleaders started chattering again, like a fungi enveloping him, and Tobio turned back to the crowd. He didn't fight it, just moved forward with the flow of people jostling to get into the cafeteria, and before he was completely swallowed up he heard Hinata shout,   
  
"See you later, Kageyama!"   
  
He  _ was  _ nice to everybody, after all.

 

 

* * *

__

 

Tobio ate lunch at a table in the corner, next to the garbage cans. He was only visited twice: once by Tanaka, who plunked himself opposite Tobio and started talking about random things. Tobio mostly ignored him. Not to be rude, just because he didn't know what to say, and it was easier to just nod along. Tanaka was on the volleyball team with Tobio, so he guessed that made them "friends" of an awkward sort.   
  
The other person who visited was Oikawa, already re-earning his reputation as the school manwhore. He was working the tables trying to find his soulmate.    
  
"Heeey, Tanaka," said Oikawa, flashing a flirtatious grin at the other boy and ignoring Tobio. "How was your summer, nice to know ya made it back, I see you haven’t found your Soulmate?"   
  
Tanaka shook his head, frightened. Oikawa could be pretty imtimidating.

“Oikawa, leave him alone,” snapped Tobio, but Oikawa pretended like he hadn’t heard.

"Well it sure is nice to see you again," he continued, draping himself over Tanaka. "How's that Mark doing?" he whispered seductively, wrapping an arm around him and running his fingers along Tanaka’s shoulder.   
  
Tanaka was frozen. Tobio threw a cup at him, but Oikawa had an iron grip and an iron will to find his Soulmate. “He’s not your Soulmate, dumbass,” snapped Tobio. “You checked last year, remember?”   
  
Oikawa stuck out his full bottom lip in a pout -- Tobio winced in memory of those lips. "Fine," he said, stroking Tanaka’s shoulder one more time as if he might have missed the Soulmate Spark, and shimmied off his lap. “Guess I'll go look somewhere else."   
  
The buzzing crowd swallowed them up again and Tobio went back to eating. Some people sure went crazy about the Soulmate thing. At least, even if he was an outcast, he didn't have to deal with the drama.   
  


 

* * *

  
Tobio was lying on his bed, trying to not cuddle too much with Hinata's blanket (the softest thing he'd ever owned), when Hinata came back. The door banged open and Tobio jumped, knocking his volleyball magazine off the bed.   
  
"Hey, Kageyama!" chirped Hinata, bouncing into the room and grinning at him.  
  
"Hey," said Tobio, eyeing him warily. He had to stay on-guard. Hinata might be mad at him for ditching during lunch, and he might take the blanket back.   
  
"Sorry about lunch," said Hinata, and he really did sound sorry -- Tobio was surprised. Usually when people said "sorry," they just wanted to appear compassionate towards the "poor black Mark kid," and then they ignored him.   
  
"It's okay," said Tobio. Hinata hadn't done anything wrong.   
  
Hinata plunked himself down on his bed. "I just - it's the girls. They're my best friends, y'know, because we cheerlead together, but they're...I don't know, an acquired taste, I guess." He laughed awkwardly.   
  
Tobio stifled a smile because he didn’t want to scare Hinata. "I don't think I could ever get acquired to her."  
  
"Ah! Yeah -- sorry about that! I didn't mean to ditch you. We can eat lunch tomorrow or something." Hinata grinned at him and bounced to his feet. "You coming to the mixer?"  
  
"The what?" Tobio was still hung up on the fact that Hinata had said “sorry” and _smiled_.  
  
"Y'know. The student mixer tonight. Are you coming?"  
  
"Oh." Mixers were kind of like school parties designed to match Soulmates. "I don't think I'm invited."  
  
Hinata scrunched up his nose, confused. "What do you mean? How can you not be invited?"   
  
Tobio paused, not sure if Hinata was trying to be nice or if he was just oblivious. "Um...it's kind of a Soulmate thing. And...you know." He gestured to his jaw.  
  
"Oh." Hinata still looked clueless for a second, but then he seemed to catch on. "Ohh, gotcha. That sucks, I'm sorry."  
  
"It's fine." Tobio didn't really want to go in the first place -- it wasn't like he had any friends. He would spend the whole night plastered to the wall, trying to avoid people who would say, "That poor kid. I feel so sorry for him."  
  
"Are you sure?" Hinata was looking sympathetic now, slowly unbuckling his belt (fuck, his belt - Tobio could already feel his ears flushing). "I bet I could sneak you in."  
  
"Really, it's fine." His eyes followed Hinata's hands as they hooked into the waistband of his gym shorts, and Hinata wiggled his hips just the tiniest bit, trying to work his way out of his pants, and _fuck_. Heat shot to below Tobio’s stomach and he turned away, ears burning, and picked up his magazine. Focus, focus, focus...  
  
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Hinata's metal foot step out of his pants. Fuck.   
  
Hinata, apparently oblivious to the fact that he was putting on a fucking _show_ for Tobio, shed his shirt too and crossed the room. Tobio subtly tried to bury his face in his pillow, but - damn. It wasn't the kind of thing you could do subtly.   
  
"I'm gonna go get dressed," said Hinata, heaving a suitcase off the floor, as if he hadn't already gotten undressed. Tobio swallowed and answered, as normally as he could,  
  
"Okay."  
  
Hinata disappeared in the bathroom and Tobio used the alone time to take some deep breaths, trying to calm down. He could make it through this year. He _could_. Just because his roommate was hot and soft-skinned and stripped in front of him - he could handle it. Sex (or anything like it) was something he couldn't do with a black Mark, and he'd spent enough time resigning himself to that.   
  
Honestly, he'd be okay. It wasn't like Hinata would walk around naked or anything, like Oikawa did. He'd be okay, he'd be okay, he was okay -   
  
"Hey," said Hinata from the bathroom doorway, startling Tobio again, "how do I look?"  
  
What Tobio wasn't expecting was for Hinata to walk out in a tiny, strapless --   
  
_What the fuck?!_  
  
\-- dress.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for reading and big shout-out to anyone who leaves kudos! It means the world to me. 
> 
> I'm sorry if Kiyoko/Yachi came across as the bad guys. I needed mean girls and Haikyuu doesn't have the biggest female cast. Sorry! 
> 
> ALSO if anyone has Haikyuu! fic recs (even if it's your own story!) please leave them in the comments below. I need new reading material!
> 
> Thank you all again. Let me know if you want me to continue!


	3. Tobio and HInata have some interesting bed talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tobio reflects on the horribly limited society that he lives in. 
> 
> (And Hinata explains his gender identity.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Enjoy :)

"Umm..." Tobio didn't know what to say. He just kept staring at that slim little black dress, Hinata's curly orange ponytail, and the silver necklace around his neck. He didn't know what he had expected from a male cheerleader, but -- 

Hinata tilted his head and his suddenly-long hair brushed his arm. "Do I look okay?"   
  
Tobio swallowed. He didn't want to say the wrong thing or offend Hinata, but he didn't know how to handle a situation like this. Was Hinata trying to come out to him or something? "Are you, um..." He gestured to the outfit, "a girl or something?"    
  
"What? Oh!" Hinata beamed. "I pass that well?"   
  
"Umm..." What was he supposed to say to that? What did that even mean?   
  
"Sorry," said Hinata, still grinning. "I'm genderfluid. Sometimes I feel like a girl and sometimes I feel like a boy and sometimes I just feel like both. I dunno, it's sort of hard to explain. Is...is that okay?" He suddenly looked worried, forehead wrinkled like he thought Tobio might kick him out.   
  
"Yeah, yeah," Tobio said hastily. Genderfluid. "It's cool. I just didn't want to...you know."    
  
"Don't worry about it." Hinata smiled again, fidgeting with the hem of his dress. "D'you think this skirt is too short?" he asked, pivoting so that Tobio had a perfect view of his ass.   
  
Tobio swallowed again. The skirt was pretty short, but he just said, "No, it looks fine." But damn. He had never thought guys in dresses would look so fucking sexy. 

"Okay!" chirped Hinata, spinning around, and he hurried to the door. "I'm going to go get my makeup done," he explained. “My girlfriends do amazing makeup."   
  
"Oh, yeah," said Tobio, who knew nothing about makeup. Hinata sure was comfortable with this whole gender-identity thing. Did the whole school know? They must, if he paraded around in dresses wearing makeup.    
  
Hinata paused with one foot out the door. "You're sure you don't wanna come?"   
  
"I'm sure." He would rather lie on his bed and read volleyball magazines than go. He didn't really know how to socialize to begin with.    
  
"It's a great way to meet new people," wheedled Hinata.    
  
'Meeting new people' sounded like what Oikawa did, groping everybody trying to find his Soulmate, and Tobio had no interest in that. "It's all good," he said.    
  
"Well, okay," said Hinata, bouncing out into the hall. "See you later, I guess."   
  
"Yeah," said Tobio, and Hinata shut the door.   
  
Tobio immediately buried his face back in the blanket, inhaling. It smelled like musty closets and nail polish, but the smell was somehow comforting. Plus, the blanket was insanely soft. And he liked soft things.    
  
He heard excited voices and trampling footsteps outside his room, but he just lay there snuggled in the blanket. No one was staring at him and no one was pitying him in loud, fake voices. He might be alone -- his heart squeezed a little, because he was always alone -- but it wasn't so bad.    
  


 

* * *

  
  
Hinata came home late, clunking into the room clumsily and falling against the door to shut it. Tobio lifted his head from his pillow, squinting at the doorway - he hadn't shut the lights off because he didn't want Hinata to trip over his prosthetic.   
  
"Hey," said Hinata distractedly, pulling the hairband out of his hair (which had definitely not been so long before). "Hey, can you like, give me a curfew or something? I hate staying at these things so late but I can't get away from the girls..." He made a face.   
  
"I don't care when you get home," said Tobio. Last year, when he'd roomed with Tanaka, Tanaka had come home whenever he felt like it. Sometimes that was 4am. Sometimes with Noya. Sometimes never.   
  
"No, I know, but..." Hinata rubbed his face, still leaning against the door in his short little dress. Tobio averted his eyes, ears flushing. "I just really like sleep and if you give me a curfew, then I can say 'oh I have to leave, my roommate wants me home by this-and-this time.' You know, as an excuse."   
  
Tobio hesitated. "Um...okay." He rolled over and caught a glimpse of Hinata stripping his dress (fuck, fuck, fuck - don't fucking look) before jumping into bed. "What sounds like a good time to you?"   
  
"I dunno," said Hinata, wrestling with his prosthetic, clad in only lacy underwear that left little to the imagination. Not that Tobio was looking, or imagining, but  _ damn _ . His skin looked so fucking  _ soft.  _ "Maybe sometime before midnight?"   
  
"Eleven o'clock maybe? Or anytime," Tobio added quickly. Oikawa didn't really like him to have opinions, so he didn't usually suggest things.   
  
"Eleven sounds good."   
  
"Kay."   
  
Tobio watched Hinata remove the prosthetic  and start messing with his hair. He pull on his head and a long piece of hair came off in Hinata’s hand. Tobio stared. 

“What are you - “

“I've got extensions,” said Hinata, unclipping the rest of his hair until he shook out his head, back to his original pixie cut. “Can't sleep with them in.”

“Oh.” Well, that explained the hair mystery.

Hinata jumbled the extensions into a bag and cuddled down in his own blanket, and Tobio felt a twinge of comfort - they were both nice and warm under matching blankets. He didn't know why he liked that so much, but he did. 

"Hey," said Hinata, peeking above the blanket. "Can I ask you something kind of awkward?"   
  
"Um." Probably about his black mark. The only reason most people talked to him was to ask him about his black mark. "Sure?"   
  
Hinata propped himself up on his elbow. "D'you...d'you mind if I jerk off sometimes? Or...y'know...kind of a lot, maybe?"   
  
Tobio's whole body went hot. What kind of a question was that? "No, it's okay," he heard himself say, pants suddenly tighter, and Hinata grinned.    
  
"Sorry for asking," Hinata said. "It's just I wanted to make sure it was...y'know. Okay with you. I'll like, go in the bathroom and shit if you want."   
  
"It's fine," said Tobio, not sure what the right answer was because he was so engrossed in the image of Hinata panting, his pants down by his ankles, and -    
  
Fuck. Fuck, he could NOT think about this. He had only just met Hinata and Hinata was right here and sexual tension was bad. He wanted to hide under the blanket but Hinata was still looking at him and fuck.   
  
"Okay. As long as you're sure."   
  
"Yeah."   
  
Hinata rested his cheek on the pillow, but his eyes were still open. Tobio's leg twitched. Even after several years, he was still awkward about having a roommate. Tanaka had been awful, but he wasn't sure a popular cheerleader would be much better. Hinata probably liked to talk a lot and Tobio never had much to say.   
  
"So how was the party?" he asked, forcing himself to make conversation. 

  
"Oh! It was fun. Y'know, the usual - Oikawa went around and groped everybody and they did that stupid kissing booth thing. The one where you try to find your Soulmate."   
  
Of course. Everything was centered around trying to find your Soulmate - you couldn't be a functional member of society without one. Tobio was tired of the constant refrain of 'try to find your Soulmate,' but that was how everyone's minds worked, so he just listened.   
  
"And Tsukishima came. You know, the really tall guy? He's got a Soulmate already, so I don't know why he bothers coming. I mean, most people think that the whole point of mixers is searching for Soulmates."   
  
Tobio furrowed his brow at 'most people.' "What do  _ you _ think that they're for?"    
  
"You know, just...to meet new people."   
  
"Isn't the whole point of meeting people to check if they're your Soulmate?"   
  
"Well - uh - " Hinata faltered, his forehead screwed up. "I mean, that's what people like Oikawa do. But I just like meeting new people for fun. I just...I really like people."   
  
That explained a lot.   
  
"I think the whole Soulmates thing happens on its own time, y'know?" Hinata continued. "I don't think you have to make an effort to find them. They just kind of come along."   
  
Or die. Either way.   
  
Tobio shook that off (he needed to be less bitter) and shrugged. "I guess so." He wouldn't know.   
  
Hinata bit his lip. "You okay?" he asked softly.   
  
"Yeah?" Sure, he was okay. He had always been okay. And having conversations about feelings wasn't his thing, anyway.    
  
"Okay." Hinata yawned, rolling over into his back. "These things really wear me out," he said sleepily, closing his eyes.   
  
Tobio hugged the blanket to his chest. "Eleven o'clock next time."   
  
"Yeah." Hinata shot him a quick smile before snuggling down, and the sound of his faint snores soon filled the room. 

Tobio was awake for a lot longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the support! Every kudos warms my heart <3
> 
> I have ideas for an Oikawa x Iwa parallel story (that explains why he gropes everyone). Would y'all be interested in that?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hopefully I'll be able to continue this story if anyone wants it. Let me know :)


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